‘Maa’ Scores Biggest Opening Weekend For Kajol As Solo Lead, ‘Kannappa’ Underperforms
Kajol’s ‘Maa’ managed to brave competition from Aamir Khan’s ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ and Brad Pitt’s ‘F1’.
Kajol’s latest film ‘Maa’ has delivered a surprisingly strong performance at the box office, despite stiff competition from Aamir Khan’s ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ and Brad Pitt’s new release ‘F1’. Released on June 27, the mythological horror drama, directed by Vishal Furia, marked Kajol’s best-ever opening weekend as a solo lead. Riding on positive word-of-mouth and a loyal fan base, ‘Maa’ showed steady growth, collecting Rs 7 crore on its third day (Sunday) and standing tall among weekend releases. The film’s performance signals a solid start for its theatrical run.
‘Maa’, which opened to Rs 4.65 crore, witnessed a slight spike in collection on Saturday as it minted Rs 6 crore. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the total nett domestic collection of the film now stands at Rs 17.65 crore.
The mythological horror film is now the highest grossing solo film of Kajol’s career and it has also surpassed the collection of Hindi releases such as Sanjay Dutt's 'The Bhootnii' (Rs 12.52 crore), Sohum Shah-starrer thriller 'Crazxy' (Rs 14.03 crore), Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar's 'Mere Husband Ki Biwi' (12.25 crore), and Himesh Reshammiya's 'Badass Ravikumar' (13.78 crore).
The new Hindi film is on track to beat the lifetime collection of Sonu Sood's 'Fateh' (Rs 18.87 crore) and Kangana Ranaut's 'Emergency' (Rs 20.48 crore). If the film goes past 'Emergency', then it would become the highest grossing Hindi film led by a female star this year.
'Maa' belongs to the world of Vikas Bahl's hit supernatural-thriller 'Shaitaan', starring Ajay Devgn, Jyothika and R Madhavan.
Speaking about Vishnu Manchu's 'Kannappa', which hit the theatres on the same day as 'Maa', minted Rs 7.25 crore on Sunday, bringing the total domestic collection to Rs 23.75 crore. Despite featuring cameos by Prabhas and Akshay Kumar, the Telugu-language film has failed to attract audiences in India.
The movie has also earned negative reviews and it is unlikely that the film will go past the Rs 50 crore mark in India.
The best performing movie over the weekend was Aamir Khan comeback's 'Sitaare Zameen Par'. The Hindi film has finally gone past the Rs 100 crore mark in India. The film, which also stars Genelia Deshmukh, earned Rs 14.50 crore on its second Sunday, taking the collection to Rs 122.65 crore in 10 days.
Aamir Khan's latest film has beaten the lifetime collection of Salman Khan's 'Sikandar' and Akshay Kumar's 'Kesari: Chapter 2'.
Lastly, speaking of Brad Pitt's 'F1', which hit the theatres on June 27, earned Rs 8 crore on Sunday, bringing the opening weekend collection to Rs 21.25 crore in India.
